Pass the Waffles Please
by angstyteenagetrash
Summary: Bucky loves waffles. He had never given much thought to the breakfast food, until he, Steve, and Natasha visited the Barton farm. I am also taking Bucky prompts.


Bucky loved waffles. He had never given much thought to the breakfast food before, until he, Steve, and Natasha went to visit the Barton farm. But now he ate them like he hadn't eaten a single thing in days.

Natasha had showed up suddenly to their apartment one day, appearing in the kitchen when Bucky walked in to make his coffee. Without realizing it was Natasha, he had jumped. Luckily, she had been able to stop him before he caused to much damage to the poor apartment. Steve had walked in on them setting the chairs back up.

After breakfast, Natasha had leaned back in her chair and declared,

"You guys are coming with me to visit Clint and Laura this weekend." Both Bucky and Steve were surprised, Bucky more angry than Steve.

"When are you going to stop springing things on us?" Bucky had demanded. Nat had merely shrugged.

"When you start deciding to be social," she replied, stealing an uneaten piece of bacon from Steve's plate. Steve disregarded it and said,

"Come on, Nat, we go out." Nat laughed.

"Sure, if going to the bar on Fridays with Sam is 'going out.'" She drew air quotes. Bucky leaned forward, angry.

"If I want to strangle _you,"_ Bucky jabbed a metal finger at her, "I don't think it's a good idea for me to be around Clint's family." His voice and expression softened. "I don't want to hurt his kids, or Laura... or even you, Natalia. I don't _actually_ want to strangle you. The assassin in me does. " Natasha had looked away at the use of her Russian name. Steve spoke up.

"Of course you won't hurt anyone, Buck," Bucky's best friend said positively. "There shouldn't be any triggers, the kids are sweet, and Laura has got to be the kindest woman I know." Bucky shook his head.

"I don't know, Steve..." he trailed off, thinking about it. He looked over at Nat. "Would I be near anyone if I had nightmare?" She shook her head.

"No. You and Steve would be sharing the guest bedroom. I'd be sharing with Lila," she said, referring to Clint's little girl. She gave Bucky a side look. "I bet the kids would like you. Cooper would love your arm-" Bucky scowled and struck the table with his left fist; a loud BANG resounded in the small apartment, and and the metal scratched the table.

"Would he?!" Bucky demanded. "Would he love it?! Or would he cower in fear and run to his daddy to save him from the scary man with the metal arm?" His voice turned accusing and he slashed his arm through the air. "Nobody, NOBODY, _loves_ this arm! All it has done is kill and slaughter thousands of people! And you think a _child_ would _love_ it?" His voice was quiet again. He shook his head. Natasha looked sad.

"Bucky," she said softly, and walked slowly over to him. "Cooper and Lila are brave kids. Hell, they actually survived all us Avengers at once! If they can handle Tony, don't you think they can handle you?" Bucky's face broke into a grin.

"They could handle Tony? Wow, they really are Clint's kids." Bucky paused. "I guess I'll go." Natasha cheered, which made Bucky flinch.

That Friday, Bucky and Steve packed up some clothes and were standing ready for Natasha at 5:00. Natasha pulled up in a black Ford pick-up truck, and yelled for the "old men" to hurry up. They shook their heads at the Russian's antics and trotted down the stairs.

The ride was relatively uneventful, with only a few words passed between Bucky and the two up front; Bucky was tense and anxious about the whole affair and just wanted to get it over with.

Soon enough, they turned onto the long gravel road leading to the farm and Natasha had Steve call Laura to let her know they were they. As soon as the farm house was insight, the door opened and two children tumbled out, followed by the two adults, one carrying a small child. Natasha parked and got out, followed by Steve and a more reluctant Bucky.

"Auntie Nat! Uncle Steve!" Cooper and Lila flew up to the truck and tackled Nat, then Steve. Then Lila, not realizing it wasn't Tony or Bruce, ran right up to Bucky, and threw her small arms around his waist, as high up as she could reach.

Bucky startled to say the least, and nearly threw the little girl to the ground. Natasha, Steve, and Clint were all alarmed, and Clint started forward at once to retrieve his daughter. Bucky's arms had started moving off there own accord, and he already wrapped his hands around her arms before he made himself stop and Clint had pulled Lila off him. He gave an apologetic look.

"Sorry, Bucky. She hugs everyone in sight," Clint apologized. Bucky gave a curt nod, still tense from his encounter. Laura had handed Natasha eight-month-old Nathaniel and was talking softly to Lila.

"Bucky doesn't like hugs," she explained to her. Lila was confused. You could see it on her face. But she remembered when a lot of Daddy's friends had stayed at their house. They were all jumpy and tense. Only Auntie Nat had given her hugs. "You need to apologize." Lila nodded and walked tentatively to Bucky. He eyed the girl warily.

"Sorry, Mr. Bucky. I didn't know that you didn't like hugs," Lila said, looking up at him. Bucky was surprised. She didn't look scared; she only looked a little hesitant. She rubbed her arms. Without thinking, he knelt.

"Did I hurt you?" Bucky asked gruffly. Lila shook her head.

"Not really," she replied.

"Can I see?" Lila glanced at her Daddy and Nat. They smiled. She pushed back her tee-shirt sleeves. Bucky reached out and ran his hands over them. Then he smiled a little.

"You were right. You'll be fine... I'm sorry for grabbing your arms. I'm not used to people hugging me, or touching me, actually. You'll be fine, ненмого Птица." Then Lila smiled and ran back to her mother.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm ready to eat. How about you guys?" Natasha said, grabbing Bucky's right arm and pulling him along. She led him inside the house and up the stairs to the guest bedroom. Then she turned to him.

"I'm so sorry, Bucky. I forgot Lila was a hugger," she said pleadingly.

"You can calm down, Nat, I'm not going to poison her or anything," Bucky told her, trying to calm her down. She shook her head.

"No, no, I should have remembered." Bucky tried to interrupt, but Nat interrupted his interruption. "No. I should have known. We both know it could have been worse. A _lot_ worse." Bucky clamped a hand over her mouth.

"You stop. Nothing happened. Everything is fine. Calm down," Bucky said, short and to the point. Nat nodded, calmed. "Now let's eat, like you said."

That night was the best night Bucky had had in a very long while. After a delicious dinner prepared by Laura and Lila, all eight of them played board games and watched a Toy Story 2. Lila had fallen asleep on Clint and Nathaniel on Laura half way through. When the movie went off, Clint and Laura took all three kids to bed and told Steve, Natasha, and Bucky to, quote unquote, "Play nice." Nothing of consequence happened and when the couple got back, they all had quiet conversation. Around twelve forty-five the adults all retired to bed. Bucky and Steve were both _extremely_ thankful that the night was uneventful.

The next few days were all similar to the first. They had a hearty breakfast, one Thor would approve of, and the three visitors helped out with the chores. Bucky was taught by Lila and Cooper how to milk the cows and collect eggs. Then he was taught by Lila, Laura, and Natasha how to make biscuits and cookies. Then he was taught by Lila and Clint how to bring in the two horses. He showed the kids his arm, and they were fascinated by it, and Natasha shot him an "I told you so," look. He playfully glared back at her and Steve just laughed.

Everything Bucky did, Lila was a part of. By Sunday, Bucky was almost perfectly comfortable with Lila following him around like a puppy. He helped make breakfast that morning, waffles and sausage. The kitchen was filled with smoke, when Bucky forgot to take a waffle off the waffle maker. Laura had taken the lead, shooing Bucky and Lila out to collect eggs. When they came back, there was a very large platter filled with waffles and everyone but the pair were sitting at the table.

That was the day Bucky left the farm with two new discoveries.

1) Bucky loved waffles. And not just because they tasted good. They reminded him of the amazing time he had at the Barton's farm. The children had accepted him without question, not caring that he had a metal arm. They knew that he had killed people, but they weren't afraid. They reminded him of the unrequited love and affection they gave him.

2) Bucky was great with kids. Cooper, Lila, even little Nathaniel liked him. The day the three had left, the two older kids were running after the truck,, screaming,

"Goodbye, Auntie Nat, Uncle Steve! Goodbye Uncle Bucky!"

* * *

 **ненмого Птица = little bird**


End file.
